


Security Bear

by kashewmoo



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-05-02
Updated: 2006-05-02
Packaged: 2017-12-16 02:09:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/856561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kashewmoo/pseuds/kashewmoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of a boy and the lifelong importance of his teddy bear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Security Bear

For a boy his age, not being able to sleep without a teddy bear companion seemed childish and only something that babies and girls did – but this was not the same case for Eiji.  
  
He could remember when his grandparents on his mother's side weren't living in his home - the times when they used to come over for special holidays and stay with their daughter's family for a few weeks. Every time they came, there would always be a present for each of the Kikumaru children, plus treats that their grandmother baked herself for the Kikumaru parents... that would inevitably end up being eaten by the kids, as well.  
  
Eiji remembered being four years old, bouncing giddily in his chair and trying to be as quiet as he could as he waited near the living room window, expecting to see his grandparents’ car pull up into the driveway at any set moment. He remembers being scooped up into warm, inviting arms when he opened the heavy front door for his grandmother, wrapping his small arms around her neck to rain small kisses on each cheek, while bubbling in childlike excitement.  
  
The next few moments had been a blur to the youngest member of the family once the nightmare known as the three older Kikumaru children caught wind of their grandparents arriving, hugs coming at every possible angle, feather-light kisses to cheeks, foreheads, temples - and gentle words of welcome while pulling their grandparents into the living room.  
  
Eiji remembered being pushed out of the way, and the large, awkward frown that tugged at the corners of his lips; fat tears threatening to fall down from wide off-blue eyes as his mother picked him up, bouncing him lightly on her hip before sitting him back down on the floor where his siblings had all gathered. It was then that Eiji gave his mother a  _look_  - a look that seemed to be a little too old for his chubby baby cheeks - and ran back to his grandmother, clamping onto her leg and refusing to let go until some attention was placed back on him.  
  
His grandmother had taken that moment to sit a handsome plush bear down on the ground near where Eiji was glued to her leg, watching while her grandson scoped the bear out curiously. He had stared at it, the seconds slowly ticking by as his eyes took in the many details that seemed amazing to someone of only four years - the thick, brown fur, two glossy black eyes and the pink-orange bow that decorated the bear's neck. It had taken a good, minute long inspection before Eiji finally reached out to pull the large bear to him, snuggling it closely to his chest while giggling and exclaiming his thanks, accented with a soft "nya."  
  
For as long as he could remember, Daigorou - as he had named the bear with help of Akako, his eldest sister - was the one thing that Eiji was absolutely unable to part with from his childhood, even as the fur slowly wore down and the eyes lost their particular shine from too many pokes and fingerprints. Every night he would crawl in bed with his bear, holding it tightly to his chest as he let sleep wash over him; it was impossible for Eiji to sleep without Daigorou, discovering that the bear seemed to chase away any bad dreams that occasionally came knocking at his door, or even just to provide the comfort that nothing - or nobody - else could give.  
  
Even once he’d entered his first year of middle school, Eiji still dragged Daigorou to his friends’ houses - he was often made fun of because of it, as their opinions were just like everyone else's: twelve-year-old boys shouldn't sleep with teddy bears. It was a habit that Eiji found he just couldn’t break, no matter how hard he wished he could through thick tears, all cried within Daigorou's fur.  
  
It wasn’t until Eiji met Oishi, his newly-claimed doubles partner, and the first night he’d spent over at the older boy’s house, that Eiji discovered that he didn’t quite need Daigorou anymore. He’d brought the bear along, just like every other night, half-expecting Oishi to make fun of him for bringing a teddy bear to a friend’s house – but Oishi had understood, giving a shy smile while saying that Eiji was just Eiji: there was nothing wrong with sleeping with a stuffed toy at night.  
  
Despite still feeling slightly uneasy about bedtime, Eiji dragged Daigorou in as both he and Oishi squeezed into the bed that was a smidgen too small to fit two almost-teenage boys. They had bid their goodnights then, Eiji settling down to curl his arms around Daigorou, and Oishi moving so he rested on his side facing the wall.  
  
To Eiji’s surprise the next morning, he discovered that Daigorou had fallen face-first onto the floor and that he was now using Oishi as a Daigorou substitute, limbs arranged in an almost-impossible array around his partner – and he realized that he’d had an even better sleep with Oishi beside him.  
  
There had been confusion, blushing and many stammered apologies once the older boy had woken up, but it was from then on that Eiji realized he did not need to drag Daigorou over to Oishi’s house anymore. He was still unable to break the habit with other people, but, as long as it was only with his partner, sleep time seemed perfectly fine… and better without Daigorou, anyway.


End file.
